On November 5th I was introduced to, and participated in allergy elimination therapy for heavy metals. For the next few weeks, I was the recipient of blank stares and questions about whether or not I still listen to Metallica, Rob Zombie, etc., after mentioning the words heavy metal detox in conversation. I am happy to say that three years into my treatment my appreciation for heavy metal in the musical sense still stands, but the heavy metals that have been hanging out in my body are no longer welcome. I am here to tell you more about this bizarre and somewhat painful experience. One other thing of note, November 25th marked the beginning of year three of my Lyme treatment. Thirty seven months and counting...
Q: What is allergy elimination therapy? A: I am still learning about allergy elimination therapy. While I am not a holistic/integrative doctor, I can tell you about my experience and share some of what I have read regarding the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS), Autonomic Response Testing (ART), and the Holistic Integrated Map to Health & Healing.
The ANS is our functional nervous system, it is responsible for normal bodily functions and abnormal adaptation to health problems. Detectable problems within the ANS are present in all chronic disease and dysfunction and all chronic disease and dysfunction has a treatable autonomic component to the problem. Not all doctors, both conventional and holistic, understand the role of the ANS in health and healing. Disorders of the ANS can affect any body
part or process. Autonomic disorders may result from other disorders that damage
autonomic nerves, or they may occur on their own.
The ANS has two main divisions: sympathetic and parasympathetic. After the ANS receives information about the body and external environment, it responds by stimulating body processes, usually through the sympathetic division, or inhibiting them, usually through the parasympathetic division. Many organs are controlled primarily by either the sympathetic or the parasympathetic division. Sometimes the two divisions have opposite effects on the same organ. Generally, the sympathetic division prepares the body for stressful or emergency situations—fight or flight. The parasympathetic division controls body process during ordinary situations.
As my doctor explained, ART is the modern application of the lie-detector. In the beginning of the last century skin electrodes could measure changes in resistivity when the tester lied, the sweaty secretions of the sympathetic nervous system were activated and an ANS stress response is then measured. ART is measuring the same "yes or no" stress response. The ART test must first establish what a "yes" and "no" answer looks like through muscle resistance. Because muscle rigidity against an increasingly controlled force, is under the control of the ANS, an ANS stress response will be result in muscle weakness.
The ANS has two main divisions: sympathetic and parasympathetic. After the ANS receives information about the body and external environment, it responds by stimulating body processes, usually through the sympathetic division, or inhibiting them, usually through the parasympathetic division. Many organs are controlled primarily by either the sympathetic or the parasympathetic division. Sometimes the two divisions have opposite effects on the same organ. Generally, the sympathetic division prepares the body for stressful or emergency situations—fight or flight. The parasympathetic division controls body process during ordinary situations.
As my doctor explained, ART is the modern application of the lie-detector. In the beginning of the last century skin electrodes could measure changes in resistivity when the tester lied, the sweaty secretions of the sympathetic nervous system were activated and an ANS stress response is then measured. ART is measuring the same "yes or no" stress response. The ART test must first establish what a "yes" and "no" answer looks like through muscle resistance. Because muscle rigidity against an increasingly controlled force, is under the control of the ANS, an ANS stress response will be result in muscle weakness.
ART uses muscle testing through biofeedback of the ANS to determine disturbances and potential remedies. It is a functional assessment which measures bodily function (or dysfunction), not specific disease.
Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt developed a systematic model of healing in the 1980's which is tied in to all of the work that my current doctor is doing with me. Here is some information worth reading on the model, you will see that ART fits into the second level of the model.
Disclaimer
Prior to my appointment I did a lot of reading, some of which I just shared with you. I am not going to pretend that I understand how all of the information you just read about ANS, ART and the integrative map fit into my experience. Let me start with what I do know. After reviewing the initial results of my blood work in September with my new doctor, which included high levels of mercury in my system, I was told to make an appointment to do allergy elimination therapy in order to free up toxic heavy metals in my body, readying them for excretion. I thought it sounded a bit odd, which is why I didn't call right away to make an appointment.
In the second paragraph of this post, I referred to my experience as bizarre and painful. I want to make one thing clear, ART testing is not painful, and neither is the treatment to desensitize the body to what it stresses to during the testing. Now you are probably thinking that I was being dramatic for the sake of hooking you in to this post. Don't jump to conclusions. I wasn't being dramatic. Keep reading, it will all make sense soon... well about as much sense as Lyme disease makes.
The Appointment
After a brief introduction about how the allergy elimination therapy session was going to work, we got down to business. The holistic practitioner, I will refer to him as HP, did a brief assessment on me to see if he could elicit a fight or flight response, which is necessary for the testing. I was sitting on the exam table facing him with my right arm straight out in front of me at shoulder level. He asked me to resist when he pushed on my outstretched hand with his hand. My hand and my arm did not move. Next he touched the side of my neck with one hand, and pushed on my hand with the other, while asking me to resist again. My arm dropped down toward my leg, and this is what he referred to as a fight or flight response. [I am sure I am probably leaving something out of this description regarding the fight or flight response, but this is how I remember it]. Next he felt my temples, my sinuses and my jaw bone and he told me that I had a weakened jaw. I wasn't exactly sure what he meant by that, or what it had to do with the task at hand but I distinctly remember thinking it sounded like a nutty statement. After the examination of my jaw, the real fun began. Pictured above are various vials filled with different metals and other assorted things. For example, there was a vial labeled "Mercury" with mercury in it, and a vial labeled "Lyme disease" with some liquid in it. Liquid Lyme disease? I didn't quite get that one either.
One at a time, without me seeing the labels, each vial was placed in my left hand. I would make a fist and place it down at my side near my left leg. My right arm would be outstretched like it was during the fight or flight scenario I mentioned above. HP would touch the side of my neck and push down on my right hand, while I resisted. If my body stressed to what was in the vial, my right arm would drop down toward my legs. If the contents of the vial did not stress my body, my arm wouldn't move. Throughout this sequence HP would frequently ask questions out loud to himself, for example, "can this (referring to the vial in my hand that I reacted to) be treated along with the others"? Sometimes I could clearly hear the questions he was asking, and other times he was mumbling. After we got through the vials, we did the same testing with all of the supplements I am currently taking. I was asked to bring one of each to the appointment for testing. I ended up stressing to the following: mercury, nickel, lead, A bak kieferostitis, gutta percha, Lyme disease and iron glycinate (the only supplement I am currently taking that I stressed to).
I put the sunglasses on and was instructed to lay down on the exam table while holding the jar. As I was laying there wearing the indigo glasses and holding on to a mason jar with vials of material my body stressed to, I thought to myself, this is weird. And then the allergy elimination therapy began, and everything got even more weird. Tapping, breathing, back stimulation, and lasering acupressure points and some of my organs with an Erchonia laser is what it entailed.
Q: What is an Erchonia laser?
A: It is a certain kind of laser that is used for cold laser therapy; a way to treat pain and range of motion issues, and it can also be used to calm the autonomic nervous system.
Q: What do you mean by tapping?
A: By tapping I mean tapping the pointer finger from my free hand on an acupressure point of the wrist attached to the hand holding the jar with the vials.
I wasn't wearing a watch but I would say the tapping, breathing, back stimulation, acupressure and lasering took 15 minutes or so. The lasering of my acupressure points and some of my organs was the last part of the desensitization session. HP left the room for ten minutes and I just rested and completely zoned out. And then I was done.
Post Desensitization:
Within twenty minutes of getting on the metro to head into my office after the treatment was complete, I started to experience discomfort in my lower back. By the time I left work that day I could barely sit or stand up straight. I had intense pain in my lower back/kidneys, along with my neck and upper back/shoulder area. That night I barely slept because I was so uncomfortable. In my head it made sense that my kidney's were causing me a lot of pain because I had read about how heavy metals that your body can't process and get rid of tend to congregate around your organs. Since HP had used the laser on my back and neck as well, I figured it was all par for the course. I did wonder why the possibility of discomfort wasn't discussed with me during my appointment, but I went about business as usual for the next couple of days slightly hunched over because I truly couldn't stand up straight due to the pain in my lower back. The day after my allergy elimination therapy appointment I made the following comment to a friend. "Wow, something major happened. I am in a lot of pain and there was material evidence in the toilet this morning that my body expelled a lot of junk. It was just like what happens when I have a herx reaction". I can see the pained expression on your face after reading that. Think about it though, when a person experiences die off of tick-borne bacteria (herx reaction) how do you think it exits your body? I hope you are not eating anything while you are reading this. If you are, I'm sorry.
As it turns out, the pain I felt after the allergy elimination therapy had nothing to do with the therapy, and was in fact a herx reaction. I found this out a month later when I spoke with HP again and told him about the intense reaction that I had. He was taken back by the level of pain I described and told me that was not a normal response. He asked me if anything else of note happened, and I mentioned the material evidence in the toilet and that is when he told me that I had a herx reaction. Did the therapy cause me to have a herx reaction? Possibly, but who really knows? All I know is, I was in a lot of pain.
Q: So exactly how does this work again?
A: I really don't know. At this point I am sure you are hearing ducks quacking in the background. I am going to write more about this soon, because there is additional information that needs to be discussed. For now though, I only have time for one more question.
Q: What are Gutta percha and A bak kieferostitis?
A: I am glad you asked, but technically that is two questions. Gutta percha is a material used for root canals and A bak kieferostitis is a bacteria related to jawbone cavitations in connection with wisdom teeth and root canals. I've had all 4 of my wisdom teeth removed and I've had three root canals.
Now I bet you have even more questions. Till next time...
